The Impact of Teaching Simple Harmonic Motion Supported by A Smartphone-based Sensor on Students’ Conceptual Mastery

One of the common challenges encountered when conducting physics experiments is ensuring measurement accuracy. Conversely, the emergence of smartphone-based sensor applications presents an opportunity to address these issues. Thus, this research aimed to assess the effectiveness of Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite (PTSS), a smartphone-based sensor, in enhancing students’ conceptual mastery of simple harmonic motion. The study employed a non-equivalent control group design, with a valid and reliable multiple-choice test as the research instrument. The sample comprised 70 2nd grade students from a public senior high school in Indonesia, with 35 students for each experimental and control group. The research was conducted during the Even Semester of the 2022/2023 Academic Year at a public high school in Lampung Province. Both groups were instructed using the same pedagogical approach-discovery learning. However, the experimental group conducted experiments aided by PTSS, while the control group did not. N-gain analysis revealed a greater increase in conceptual mastery within the experimental class compared to the control class. The average n-gain for the experimental group was 0.74, whereas for the control group, it was only 0.64. Furthermore, the Mann-Whitney test indicated an Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.004, smaller than 0.05, suggesting that smartphone-based sensors like PTSS could facilitate simple harmonic motion experiments and enhance students’ conceptual mastery.


Introduction
Experimentation within the field of physics education represents a pedagogical approach that revolves around observing physical phenomena, collecting data, and uncovering theories or concepts under examination.These hands-on activities confer immeasurable benefits for holistic student learning.In this regard, practical activities allow learners to discover or prove theories and improve their understanding of concepts [1].Experimental activities give students a direct experiential understanding of physics principles [2].
Indeed, these activities have not been executed optimally to enhance students' critical thinking skills [3].Various obstacles that hinder the execution of experiments within schools are frequently encountered, including the absence of experiment worksheets and the lack of adequate facilities and laboratory infrastructure [4].Challenges arise during the experiment, such as difficulties in achieving precise measurements.For instance, when it comes to simple harmonic motion (SHM), students often grapple with issues such as improper pendulum movements, discrepancies in calculating Earth's gravitational acceleration, and errors in time measurement [5].
Moreover, smartphones can be valuable tools to bolster physics experiments, given their userfriendly nature [6].Generally, smartphones have sensors applicable to physics experiments [7][8][9].One such application is the Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite (PTSS), which streamlines experimentation by ensuring easy data accessibility and analysis.Particularly in the context of SHM, PTSS presents an alternative avenue for facilitating student experiments.Available for free on app stores, PTSS has the potential to heighten students' interest and motivation [10].Leveraging smartphones for experimentation offers notable measurement accuracy and can effectively function as instruments for quantifying various physics phenomena [11].
Numerous studies have explored the utilization of smartphone-based sensors as practical tools in various contexts.For instance, researchers have employed a light sensor within the PTSS to ascertain the spring constant [12], measured sound intensity [13], determined the elastic constant of a helicoidal spring [14], and even assessed the moment of inertia of rigid bodies using a smartphone magnetometer [10].Additionally, scholars have incorporated smartphone-based sensors into the realm of SHM.They've utilized a magnetometer in conjunction with the PTSS to calculate the average speed of objects [11] and leveraged tools like Phyphox and the PTSS App to enhance critical thinking skills through inquiry-based learning [15,16].However, there remains a limited scope of research investigating the use of PTSS in the magnetometer menu specifically for SHM, warranting further exploration.Furthermore, there's a lack of comparative research evaluating the impact of the PTSS App versus manual measurements in SHM experiments, especially within alternative learning models like discovery learning.
Discovery learning is an instructional model that strongly emphasizes learners constructing their knowledge through engagement with real-world problems [17].This approach provides learners with firsthand exposure to problem-solving experiences [17].The learning process within the framework of discovery learning involves distinct phases, including stimulation, data collection, data processing, verification, and generalization [18].The underpinning of discovery learning lies in the constructivist learning theory, which emphasizes the close interconnection between constructivism and meaningful learning.Constructivism is founded on the notion that students' learning gains deeper significance when they independently engage in their work, identify personal interests, and establish new knowledge and skills [19].By actively participating in experimentation and exploration, students apply the principles of constructivist theory.The process of exploration actively influences students' cognitive processes [20].Constructivism transforms students from passive recipients of information into active contributors to the learning process, allowing them to proactively build their knowledge and understanding rather than merely receiving knowledge from educators or textbooks [20].
Based on the description above, the research question in this study was how the effect of the PTSS App-assisted discovery learning model of high school SHM topic on the student's mastery of concepts.

Research Design and Subject
The research design was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group design.The diagram can be seen in Figure 1.The sample was 70 students in 2 nd Grade of senior high school, divided into 35 students for each experiment and control group.The research was conducted at a public high school in Lampung Province in the Even Semester of the 2022/2023 Academic Year.Both groups were taught with the same learning model, discovery learning.However, the experimental group experimented with the help of the PTSS, while the control group did not.The control group measured the SHM quantities manually utilizing a stopwatch.

Instrument
The instrument was a multiple-choice test with 13 items.Mastery of concepts is grouped into four levels of knowledge according to Bloom's taxonomy, namely remembering, understanding, application, and analysis, based on Anderson and Krathwhol [22].The validity of the test was carried out using 30 respondents.The correlation coefficient rcount obtained is then compared with rtable, and if rcount ≥ 0.361, the item is declared valid.Based on the test results, it was found that 13 items fulfilled the validity criteria out of 14 items.Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha value for all valid items was 0.803 and obeyed the reliability requirement.

Data Analysis Technique
Data were analyzed using the median difference test between the two groups through the Mann-Whitney U-test.This is because the data were not normally distributed.The data were normalized gain (n-gain) on pre-test to post-test of the SHM concept mastery.After obtaining the test results, a further test is carried out, namely the effect size test by means of Cohens' d.

Result
The data presented in Table 1 shows that, in terms of descriptive statistics, the average n-gain of the experiment group is greater than the control group.The n-gain of the experimental class of 0.74 (high category), is superior to those of the control class of 0.64 (moderate category).The results of the n-gain difference test between the two groups were carried out using the Mann-Whitney U-test.At a significance level of 5%, the Assym Sig.(2-tailed) was 0.004, less than 0.05.This result shows a significant difference in the n-gain of the two groups.These results indicate that using the PTSS positively and significantly increases students' mastery of concepts.Teaching SHM through the PTSS App-assisted discovery learning model is better than teaching with the same learning model without PTSS.Cohen's effect size test, d = 0.732, was obtained through a follow-up test.These results confirm the strong impact of PTSS in SHM topic learning at a high school level.
If it is viewed per each level of thinking based on Bloom's taxonomy, namely remembering, understanding, applying, and analyzing, the n-gain differences between the two groups are given in Figure 2. High differences in n-gain appear at the first two levels, remembering and understanding.This may indicate that the use of smartphone-based sensor PTSS only has an impact on lower-level thinking.

Discussion
Table 1 demonstrates a considerable increase in learning outcomes for the experiment and control groups.This signifies that the utilization of the discovery learning model in teaching SHM positively influences students' learning achievements.During the stages of discovery learning, students engage in active learning and develop problem-solving skills [4].This approach necessitates students uncover concepts aided by stimuli, promoting a student-centered learning environment.The implementation of discovery learning has the potential to enhance students' curiosity and motivation, ultimately aiding them in mastering key concepts [23].Previous research also underscores the effectiveness of this approach, labeling it as an engaging, effective, and active instructional model that enhances physics learning outcomes among students [24,25].During the data processing phase, the information collected by PTSS was analyzed using Microsoft Excel (Figure 5).This was accomplished by calculating the time gap between wave peaks to determine the period.The smartphone's magnetic field sensor proved to be a dependable tool for measuring oscillation periods [26].After obtaining the period, the data was visually represented, as illustrated in Figure 6.The data produced by PTSS proved to be more user-friendly and understandable for students when compared to the task of manually creating graphs from data collected by hand.Experiments facilitated by the PTSS application streamlined the process of acquiring experimental data for students, as the data was readily viewable on the smartphone screen [16].During the verification phase, it was anticipated that students in the experimental class would find it more straightforward to comprehend the data and confirm the outcomes compared to the control class.The smartphone, being employed as a tool for data collection, is acknowledged for its user-friendly nature, which renders the results more accessible for interpretation [27].Meanwhile, in the final stage, known as generalization, after presentations, discussions, and teacher elucidations, learners conclude from their learning experiences.Within the framework of the discovery learning model, students actively participate in the development and presentation of experiment outcomes to address problem statements.This engagement allows students to effectively detect errors, evaluate responses, and rectify methodological inaccuracies [28].
The PTSS application proves highly beneficial in supporting physics laboratory work.The outcomes of experiments conducted using PTSS align well with the theoretical principles of SHM.PTSS is a reliable tool for enhancing hands-on learning experiences in the laboratory, effectively boosting students' interest in physics [29,30].Using PTSS, students find it much simpler to obtain experimental results, as these results are directly accessible on their smartphone screens.Moreover, the accuracy of data obtained through PTSS is believed to surpass that of manual measurements.PTSS enables the direct visualization of SHM graphs, a feature not achievable through traditional experimental approaches.Other research focusing on using magnetometer sensors within PTSS, applied to determine the speed of dynamic trains, highlights the application's reasonably accurate measurement results [11].
Figure 2 illustrates that the influence of PTSS appears to be concentrated primarily on the lower levels of thinking, explicitly remembering and understanding.This phenomenon can likely be attributed to the visually appealing presentation of data within PTSS, which captivates students' attention and aids their comprehension of the subject matter [31].Smartphones are being utilized as valuable tools to support students and teachers, fostering an increased interest in learning physics [15,31].However, in this particular scenario, despite the engaging visualizations and user-friendly data collection facilitated by PTSS, there appears to be a limited impact on students' higher-order thinking skills.
Several prior researchers [32,33] similarly discovered a limited enhancement in higher-order thinking skills.Regarding argumentation analysis, no significant divergence emerged between the control and experimental groups [32].Furthermore, other studies indicated that the improvement in analytical capabilities remained somewhat modest.Notably, the lowest-level abilities had been well-mastered by students; nevertheless, some students displayed an inability to address every question provided [33] thoroughly.Throughout the study, students encountered challenges mainly related to analysis [33].It is reasonable to speculate that fostering a substantial increase in Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) isn't a swift undertaking, particularly within a relatively brief timeframe.Moreover, considering that students were engaging with smartphone sensors for the first time during their learning process, it's conceivable that they might require more time to harness the app's potential fully.Irrespective of the findings from this study, the implementation of PTSS is not inherently straightforward.Various challenges exist; for instance, PTSS encounters issues when attempting to operate seamlessly on IOS smartphones.Additionally, students require substantial initial assistance in navigating the application and managing the initial stages of data processing [16].Another hurdle involves accurately positioning the smartphone to effectively capture the object's motion.Erol et al. [29] have deliberated that careful consideration must be given to the distance between the sensor and the system under observation [29].

Conclusion
The difference in n-gain between the two groups was assessed using the Mann-Whitney U-test at a significance level of 5%.The findings indicate a statistically significant distinction between the groups.A subsequent analysis employing Cohen's effect size test yielded a value of d = 0.732, affirming the substantial influence of PTSS implementation on SHM topic learning in high school physics education.These outcomes underscore the positive and noteworthy effect of PTSS employment on elevating students' comprehension of concepts.Applying the PTSS-assisted discovery learning model in teaching SHM is superior to employing the same learning model without PTSS intervention.However, it's worth noting that the smartphone-based PTSS App primarily influences lower-order cognitive skills, namely remembering and understanding.This study does not furnish evidence for the enhancement of higherorder thinking skills.
This study is subject to certain limitations.For example, students utilized smartphone-based sensors, such as PTSS, for the first time, necessitating substantial guidance to execute SHM experiments.Furthermore, the research period was relatively brief and focused on investigating the spring system and simple pendulum.Consequently, there is a compelling need for additional research endeavors.For instance, future studies could involve offering more comprehensive instructions for utilizing PTSS, potentially including video demonstrations to facilitate understanding and implementation.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Maps of rainfall and lightning strikes in the Tuban region.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. The comparison of n-gain per each thinking level.

Figure 5 .
Figure 5. Data collected by PTSS.Figure 6. Graph to measure the period of oscillation.

Figure 6 .
Figure 5. Data collected by PTSS.Figure 6. Graph to measure the period of oscillation.

Table 1 .
Descriptive data of n-gain of students' conceptual mastery.